Pioneer history of Ingham County, compiled and arranged by Mrs. Franc L. Adams, secretary of the Ingham County pioneer and historical society.

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5PIONEER HISTORY OF INGIAM 'COUNTY

The vanquish'd foe, are scattered o'er the earth
Like wither'd leaves, that float along our path
In Autumn's blast. The dark-hair'd maid, no more,
Shall meet her sire, the Sachem, crown'd with plumes
Of age, and rank, and listen to his tale of war,
And blood. Nor shall her lover pipe his reed
In wildly solemn, strangely mournful notes,
To serenade the Day-god, as he folds
The sombre curtains of the dusky night
Around his weary limbs, and sinks beneath
The bosom of the western waves, in calm,
And quiet rest. Where in thy book, 0 Time!
Hast thou the record kept? Where the rude seed
Was planted in the earth, and from its heart
The tender germ uprose, to tower, ere long
High o'er the forest ground, and reign the king
Of all the tuneful woods.
And those, old oak, whose limbs are sered with age,
Speaks out, and give us hist'ry of the past.
How many years hs this bright river roll'd
With glassy bosom, at thy earthbound feet?
Hath she passed on, in the same beaten track,
Age after age? or hath she not, full oft,
Turn'd far aside, to tread some untried path,
When frowning clouds have drench'd her sloping banks
And fill'd her gentle breasts with heaving rage!
Hath she not, sometimes, groaned beneath the weight
Of the fierce red-man's fleet of blacken'd troughs,
And felt her sides transfix'd, when warfare rag'd
With flinty missiles from the whizzing dart?
Hath not her mirror cheek turn'd hectic
When the crimson tide hath pour'd, in combats,
From the red-man's veins? 0, yes! I answer
For thee, since thy lips are sealed, and utter
More than thou couldst ever speak, but meeting
Thy assent, at every word. Fix'd like a
Faithful sentinel upon his tower
Those must have seen such service as the rest
Can never boast. Clad in the gaudy robe